


Mr.(Dr.)Reid

by honestlyidkwhatimdoing



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:01:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25259644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/honestlyidkwhatimdoing/pseuds/honestlyidkwhatimdoing
Summary: Most of the school had a thing for the math teacher, but they couldn't really be blamed.
Kudos: 58





	Mr.(Dr.)Reid

**Author's Note:**

> Some ideas came from a teacher!Reid story, so credits to the author of "Reasons I Love You".

No one liked math. Okay, maybe a select few did, but the general population of Quantico High suffered through it to gain their required credits. Students grumbled in the halls, at the round tables in the cafeteria, underneath the trees that dotted the campus, wherever it was, someone was always complaining about a pile of calculus homework or an upcoming test in trigonometry.

Then the math teacher quit.

It had been out of the blue, and the abrupt departure left the staff struggling to find a replacement. The substitute had a clear distaste for the subject, and even she admitted she was doing a poor job of explaining it. 

The replacement arrived the next week, and the complaints about math ceased immediately. 

When their teacher introduced himself as Dr. Spencer Reid, multiple hands rose through the air.

"Aren't you a little young to be a doctor?"

"No offense, but what are you doing teaching a high school math class? Shouldn't you be like, operating on people, saving lives?"

"The title is because of my PhD's in mathematics, chemistry, and engineering," he answered.

"Woah, woah, woah. _Three_ doctorates? How old are you dude?" 

"Twenty-two."

"You some kind of genius?"

"Most people would classify me as one, yes. Now if you could all turn your books to page 32." Reid said, pulling out his own hardback. 

They spent twenty minutes reviewing the material and then they were free to finish the worksheet. Reid flicked through a book on quantum mechanics, intent on getting some light-reading in while he waited. However, it seemed most of the class was struggling with function machines, due to the sea of voices looking for his assistance.

Most teachers would have left them to struggle, reiterating that they had learned functions in middle school. Reid was too nice for that, and he smiled and gave helpful suggestions as he went from desk to desk. His attention to the task at hand meant the others could gawk without shame. Progress took a backseat as they stared, only glancing down when the man returned to his desk.

When the bell finally rang, chatter filled the halls about the new math teacher.

"Can you believe they got like, Albert Einstein, to teach here?"

"God, he's too attractive to be compared to him," came the disgusted reply.

It wasn't just the girls fawning over the school's new addition, members of Quantico's cherished lacrosse team had some things to say as well.

"Man I'm telling you, he looked exactly like Mandi. If I played for both teams I'd totally try and hit that."

"Travis he's four years older than you, and besides, that probably goes against a million regulations."

"Don't be weird about it Kev, all the guys agree with me."

Lunch rolled around and the talk only increased, more people got introduced to the sweet brunette, and wanted to know more about him. Third period had been smart, finishing early and asking for some basic information, which they'd been denied of. This meant the final two periods had to push for a miniature Q and A session the next day.

Their efforts had paid off, as second period settled into their seats, Reid announced they'd reserve five minutes of class where they could ask questions.

Papers were collected with a solid ten minutes left, and the doctor smiled at their determination and sat in his chair. "I've been told you have inquires?"

"Do you have a girlfriend?," a girl in the front row asked, and giggles exploded at her brazenness. The laughter increased when a member of the lacrosse team added a follow-up. "Or a boyfriend?"

No answer came, and excitement was deflating. Truly, they didn't have a chance regardless of Reid's relationship status, but it was still a nice fantasy.

"No to both questions. Could we make the next one a little more appropriate?"

"Are you _looking_ for a girlfriend?," a grunt was released, "Or boyfriend. Would you _quit it_. If he's straight than you're just embarrassing yourself. There's another, which way does the door swing?"

A cough came and Reid took a drink from his coffee, "I think you guys misunderstood my definition of appropriate."

The lacrosse guy from the back row called out, "Aw c'mon teach', I swear we'll ask about pets or something if you tell us."

Reid sighed, "I'm not looking for anyone. As for the 'door', if I'm interpreting your slang correctly, it goes either way."

Quiet cheers erupted around the room, and once they'd settled down, they kept their promise and strayed from questions that seemed too personal.

Lunch was bursting with chatter as the students shared the small tidbits of information they'd gotten. Dr. Reid graduated from Caltech at sixteen, and gathered two BA's with his PhD's. His reading speed of 20,000 words per minutes explained the pile of books on his desk, and his early graduation was assisted by his IQ of 187.

They didn't gain anything too personal. Third block discovered his ability to bluff and count cards, and insisted a round of poker in the near future. An unspoken list of questions that were deemed 'inappropriate' was made and explained to the later classes of the day. 

After a few weeks, math had shot up in popularity. Grades improved and many coaches were questioning why they didn't have half their players on the bench for academic discrepancies.

Christmas was arriving, and after severe harassment, Reid agreed to a poker match the day before break. 

Chips were small value blocks that they never used, and they rearranged desks to make two tables across the room. Boldness was an acquired trait that day as students, who lacked severely in experience, bet all their money away. Folds happened sooner and sooner as Reid dropped flushes and straights again and again, and a pile of blue had formed in front of him.

"A full house? Is everyone seeing this? I think I've got this in the bag and he pulls out a full house. Someone stand behind him, there's no way this is being played fairly." Evan, the intrepid lacrosse player, was shocked.

Reid smiled, "Go ahead, but I can assure you there's no cheating involved. Contrary to popular belief, poker can be broken down to a simple math strat-"

"Not all of us are geniuses dude, it probably involves that cursed unit circle or something."

"You're in Trig?" The girl to his right laughed.

"Piss off Allie, I have a couple brain cells up here," he glanced up when Reid coughed into his elbow. "Sorry teach', won't happen again."

Swearing was something Reid was supposed to have zero-tolerance for, keyword-- _supposed_ to. After an angry _fuck_ or _shit_ escaped his mouth far too much to be excused, cussing was permitted with a raised eyebrow. 

Holidays for Reid meant visiting his mother in Nevada, and sharing a glass of wine with his friends. Silence hung in the air when a girl in his final class asked about the card on his desk.

"I noticed it says Jason, is that your dad?"

Reid waited a moment before he replied. "Uh, Gid- Jason is the guy who taught me how life works. Not my dad- but he's got all the qualifications to fill the job."

Did they feel bad for unconsciously introducing a sensitive topic? Absolutely. So the topic was switched to Christmas legends, something Reid knew a little too much about.

Reid had turned into a school wide favorite, which grated the staff members. Especially the history teacher, who always held a hostile manner towards him after he'd reject her advances. Reid prohibited discussion about the swim coach who'd tried encourage an after-hours skinny dip. This led to many gripes from Quantico's team, who'd endured medley relays for weeks. 

"I like you Doctor, I really do. But couldn't you have given her a 'maybe' or something? I'm _still_ sore."

"Dean, would you rather swim through water that I'd been _nude_ in?" Reid mused.

"I can't give you an honest answer that won't end with me being thrown out of class."

Reid had decided to ignore that comment, and it had been the only mention of the swim instructor's failed seduction. Any later attempts were met with a steady glare and quiet warning. 

June was gaining on them and they had one last request.

"We've never met your friends Dr. Reid." Mandi, his female 'doppelganger', stated.

"No you haven't," Reid replied, clearly immersed in the textbook he was flipping through. 

"Well y'know how Quantico does that pool party thing at the end of the year? Why don't you bring them?"

"Unless they magically became pupils here, there's no reason for them to come." Reid frowned, finally acknowledging the source of the voice. 

"Dr. Reid, teachers bring people all the time. No one would really notice, and if they did, I doubt they would care." she persisted.

"Mandi I'm sorry, but it's not going to happen. We've gotten off track, flip to the next page of your review sheets please."

Of course, as the respectful students they were, they dropped the subject.

_Wrong._

As the incessant little shits they were, they pestered Reid for days, and the only time he wasn't being cajoled was his free period in the morning. Two days before the school session ended, Reid declared he'd given in, and hoped they could finally focus on their finals.

The next day, Reid handed back tests with a grin on his face. "I'll admit I was a little concerned about the potential outcomes, but you've all pleasantly surprised me."

"So did you get any responses for tomorrow?" Mandi asked.

"You'll find out tomorrow. Now, you're free to do what you want. Within reason."

The class wasn't about to pass up a free period just to badger their teacher, and Reid spent his time taking down notes and posters.

School had finally come to a close, and teens spilled out of buses as they walked to the restrooms to change. Faculty members were leisuring on lounge chairs and chatting amiably with each other. Unannounced guests began arriving and pulled up seats of their own, receiving side-eye from some of the staff, but otherwise ignored. 

Students swam laps through the pools and passed a volleyball on the court, lines formed at the concessions and the gift shops had a smatter of people purchasing souvenirs. Mother nature had been kind, and the shining sun was a nice contrast to the cool water. 

Mandi had climbed out of the pool and wrapped her towel around her waist. She spotted Reid sitting under a tree, flipping through a book. Dragging a couple friends with her, she smiled at the man. "How's it going Dr. Reid?"

He glanced up and pulled his shades off. "Did you know drowning is the third leading cause of unintentional deaths, putting the death toll at approximately 320,000 per year?"

"Oh wow, uh-should I be worried?" As time wore on, the kids got used to their teacher sharing weird facts and statistics. 

"Actually, only about 1.16% of those deaths occur in the states, children ages one-to-fourteen are more susceptible, and males have twice the mortality rate of females. However, I'd advise against trying to swim alone, because a couple inches of water is all it takes to suffocate."

Blinks were exchanged as they let that dark information pass over them. Leave it to Reid to bring fun and festivities into a conversation. A pair of footsteps drew everyone's attention, and two women arrived with drinks in their hands.

A petite blonde handed her other drink to Reid, "Morgan and Garcia are grabbing food, I figured they've known you long enough to order something you like."

Reid took a sip of his drink and thanked her, he reached down to grab his book, and frowned when he came up with air. 

The other woman, a brunette Latina waved it at him, "Really chico? There's a hot tub fifty feet from here, and you're reading some dissertation on entropy?"

Reid, who had tried to snatch it back with no avail, went on a tangent on why it was perfectly reasonable to educate yourself regardless of location.

He was interrupted by one of Mandi's friends, Emaya. "So these are the mysterious friends of Doctor Reid. Can we have an introduction?"

The lanky man looked like he was about to object, but the brunette had already extended her hand. "I'm Elle, and this is JJ. You embarrassed of us or something chico? Don't see why, I mean, have you seen us?"

"No, of course not. My personal life just didn't need be brought up in the middle of a lesson."

"She's just teasing Spence. I'm gonna assume you three have names as well?" JJ asked, lifting an eyebrow. 

"I'm Tamin, this is Mandi, and the one with the determined attitude is Emaya."

Morgan and Garcia arrived as the two continued exchanging pleasantries, with Reid scanning through the book he'd finally managed to retrieve.

"I bring sweet holy goodness layered with grease to worsen America's fast-food crisis. But who really car- And who are you three ladies near the boy genius?" A bubbly blonde with streaks of pink sent them a confused stare.

"Sorry, Garcia. These are students from my calculus class, Mandi, Emaya, and Tamin. Uh, this is Garcia, and- Morgan put the chip down for a minute, that's Morgan."

Unsurprisingly, three pairs of eyes latched onto the final name mentioned. Mandi straightened her hair a bit and said, "I should've known you'd have...attractive friends."

Morgan chuckled as took a sip of a raspberry smoothie, "Sorry ladies, I've got a five-year maximum age gap, so unless any of you are twenty-five, it's not an option."

"Besides, he's too smitten with the lovely image that is me. Poor guy has to leave clubs with no lady friend because he's heartbroken over my rejection." Garcia laughed, and it was obvious she was joking.

Eventually the girls left, but they'd spread the news that Reid had kept his promise, and now people are 'accidentally' bumping into the small group. 

Some swim members let the skinny-dip-proposal fall into the open, causing a mortified Reid to finally stuff his book away. There was laughter and snorts as he tried to downplay what happened, but no one was having a word of it. 

"C'mon man, why didn't you accept? Proposition like that and I'd be jumping in." Morgan said.

"I've got a bit of decency Morgan, and I've got a strict no-fraternizing-with-co-workers rule."

"Good thing we don't work together then," Morgan laughed and dodged a fry as Reid's face heated up. "Just messing with you pretty boy, maybe if I was into dudes, or if I had enough alcohol in my syst-'

Morgan had to catch a stray food tray before he could finish, and Reid was sitting there with a glare.

Elle smiled, "If you boys are done playing, I'd love to visit that hot tub. And you-," she gestures to Reid, "-are coming with. Don't argue, it's pointless."

"What if I didn't bring swim shorts?" 

"There's a store that sells them, I appreciate the effort Reid, but you're not getting out of this." 

Ten minutes later, Reid and company were relaxing in the hot tub. The school had specifically asked for it to be restricted from students, thankfully, the request never caused much of an uproar because the pool and hot tub didn't differ too much in temperature. 

"So you barely mention your job, you getting bored teaching math you could do when you were eight?" Derek asked.

"Not really, no. It's refreshing to know over a hundred people are learning something new because of you."

"That's really good Spence. You see yourself doing this forever? It's definitely something to consider." JJ smiled.

"Uh-I don't know, maybe? It's enjoyable but the income-"

"C'mon Reid, you can just hit up some casinos, this isn't Nevada." Garcia teased.

Reid seemed to mull that over, and the topic switched over to everyone elses occupations. 

"How's the training going Morgan? Find a new lady friend yet?" Elle questioned. 

Morgan tried to defend himself and explained that he didn't hop into bed with every trainee, but his string of short relationships and one-night stands begged to differ.

"You can stop coming for my neck you hypocrite. What about the guy who comes to your bar every weekend? You memorized his drink Elle."

"I've been a bartender for years Morgan, of course I'll remember regulars orders."

They continued their bickering and Garcia, JJ, and Reid started side conversation of their own, discussing how JJ was doing as a pediatric nurse, and Garcia as a therapist. Morgan and Elle ended their arguement just as the speaker phones blared that everyone had half an hour to get on the buses. 

After the five had gotten dressed, they made their way to the parking lot, Garcia and Morgan pairing off to one car, JJ and Elle to the other.

"You need a ride sugar?" Garcia asked.

Reid declined, and thanked her as he walked over to his car.

Summer break gave him the time to score another doctorate, and some cash at the local casinos. He'd found a strategy that kept him from being black listed, and allowed him to add healthy deposits to his bank account.

Reid hadn't decided if he'd continue teaching until he retired, and when school started up in the fall, he started giving guest lectures at colleges on the weekends. His students eventually found out, and tried every convincing tactic in the book to convince him not to take the jump from teacher to professor.

They needn't have bothered. Reid liked lecturing, after all it was the same way he'd met Gideon. But it didn't take him long to realize his heart would always be with the annoying little pests at Quantico high.

**Author's Note:**

> In case you've never been to school, students aren't ever this invested in a new teacher xx


End file.
